Our vacation stop at Bariboo, Wisconsin and the origins of the Ringling Bros Circus continues. Probably the most striking thing about the stop was being able to see their collection of great, old, circus wagons. The collection isn't entirely of the Ringling line but of many different circus companies. It filled a huge building. The collection was growing even while we toured, they were bringing in more old wagons for restorations. The parade from the railroad to where the circus was to pitch their 100 plus tents, must have been something. Over a thousand people, and over 2500 animals, were in the entourage. They carried along all of the amenities of a small town. Grocery and clothing stores, a bank, a barber, a doctor, and on and on. I read a list of the rules and terms of employment and they ran a very tight ship.
I think you'll find the bottom picture of particular interest and worthy of 'clicking on' to enlarge. It is a close-up of one of the wagons and it shows the exacting craftmanship and, well, 'the beauty' of their work.